Jamshedpur: Thirty-five schools from Jharkhand, including six from this city and four from Ranchi, have been selected in the second round for Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) or dedicated work spaces to hone latent innovation skills in students.
The names were announced by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), the Centre's flagship initiative to promote entrepreneurship in the country, on December 25, but schools in the state received the communiqué only on Thursday.
In the first round of selection in 2016, only 11 schools from the state, including two from Jamshedpur (DBMS English School and Jamshedpur Public School), had been short-listed.
The 2017 list, spanning 22 districts, includes Ranchi's JVM-Shyamali, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Upgraded High School and SS Doranda Girls' High School and Jamshedpur's Carmel Junior College (Sonari), Hill Top School (Telco), Kerala Public School (Kadma), Motilal Nehru Public School and Kerala Samajam Model School (both in Sakchi) and Vidya Bharati Chinmaya Vidyalaya (Telco).
These apart four schools from Lohardaga, two each from Giridih and Simdega and one each from all other districts, barring Pakur and Godda have made it to the prestigious list, which has 1,500 cradles from across the country.
The schools were judged on their knack for science and innovation, implementation plan, science-related activities and a presentation made by students on resolving local problems. They had also had to fill up a lengthy form, write a 500-word summary on efforts to promote science and technology, submit academic results of the past five years and share future plans.
The selected 35 will receive a one-time grant of Rs 10 lakh to set up the lab and operational expenses of Rs 10 lakh for a maximum of five years. The schools are free to collaborate with mentors and can conduct various activities such as regional- and national-level competitions and workshops.
Prabha Prakash, a teacher of Carmel Junior College, said they had worked very hard for the selection. "This is a school that promotes scientific thinking beyond textbooks and we are elated to be short-listed," she said.
"It is an opportunity for hands-on innovation. Children are very theory-oriented. They do practicals, but based on the syllabus. At ATLs, it is a combination of their mind and hand, and they can come up with something that is creative and innovative," said Puneeta B. Chouhan, principal of Hill Top School.
